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Graylog vs ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer vs Splunk Enterprise Security comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of Graylog is 6.2%, up from 5.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer is 0.9%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Splunk Enterprise Security is 7.8%, down from 12.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Log Management
 

Featured Reviews

Andrey Mostovykh - PeerSpot reviewer
Real-time analysis, easy setup, and open source
We stopped using it for analytics because of its price, and at the moment, we are using it mostly for log centralization. If you use it with high traffic for analytical purposes, as well as for the logs, the infrastructure costs are unbelievable. Graylog is a great product backed by Elasticsearch as the storage and query engine. It is just an interface on top of Elasticsearch and some Elasticsearch management. The indexes that are kept in Elasticsearch are managed by Graylog software. Elasticsearch is a decent product, but it's very infrastructure-heavy. It requires lots of resources, and if you make a mistake with provisioning, you are likely to not get a cluster back. We had a couple of outages like that, and we hated that. So, we ended up over-provisioning resources just to avoid such situations from happening. If you have a whole team trying to fix the Graylog instance for two days, that's a bit too much. That may be my Norwegian take on it, but the engineering resources are expensive. It's better to just provision the infrastructure. Overall, the product is great, and the features are just fine, but the infrastructure cost is what is killing it. The infrastructure cost is the main issue. I like the rest. If the infrastructure costs could be lower, it would be fantastic. I'm not sure if they can improve the infrastructure cost with the way Elasticsearch is. If they keep using Elasticsearch, maybe there are some opportunities there, or they can support other backends with cheaper storage. They could have a different backend to replace Elasticsearch or do some tweaks to Elasticsearch to reduce the costs. There could be partial parsing of logs or parsing on demand so that when you write data through Graylog to Elasticsearch, it doesn't need to crunch in every detail requiring that much CPU.
Abdul  Hakim - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient log management enhances activity monitoring despite VPN user issue
Last month, we faced an issue with a Hawaiian VPN user activity. It's like a Fortinet device configured for VPN users. When a VPN user logs in, it doesn't really capture the time before this. If you're testing with existing or new device integration, then the product will be good in the market.
ROBERT-CHRISTIAN - PeerSpot reviewer
Has many predefined correlation rules and is brilliant for investigation and log analysis
It is very complicated to write your own correlation rules without the help of Splunk support. What Splunk could do better is to create an API to the standard SIEM tools, such as Microsoft Sentinel. The idea would be to make it less painful. In ELK Stack, Kibana is the query language with which you can search log files. I believe Splunk has also a query language in which they search their log files, but once you have identified the log file that you want to use for further security correlation, you want to very quickly transport that into your SIEM tool, such as Microsoft Sentinel. That is something that Splunk could make a little bit less painful because it is a lot of effort to find that log file and forward it. An API with Microsoft Sentinel or a similar SIEM tool would be a good idea.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It has data adapters and lookup tables that utilize HTTP calls to APIs."
"UDP is a fast and lightweight protocol, perfect for sending large volumes of logs with minimal overhead."
"One of the most valuable features is that you are able to do a very detailed search through the log messages in the overview."
"Graylog's search functionality, alerting functionality, user management, and dashboards are useful."
"We're using the Community edition, but I know that it has really good dashboarding and alerts."
"Allowing us to set up alerts and integrate with platforms we already use, such as Slack and OpsGenie to alert users of these errors proactively, is also a very useful feature."
"Real-time UDP/GELF logging and full text-based searching."
"The product is scalable. The solution is stable."
"The most valuable features of ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer are the number of capabilities, file integration monitoring, web server log collection, and alert configuration."
"The support system is very good."
"What I found most useful in ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer is its integration with other ManageEngine applications. It seamlessly integrates throughout the ManageEngine suite, and that's beneficial. I also like that the solution has chain management capabilities, it has a modular approach, and it's easy to reach the support team."
"The initial setup is straightforward"
"The log management has helped to improve my organization."
"It's one of the easiest products. It's very simple to use."
"I have made use of technical support and am certainly very satisfied with them."
"The dashboard for administrators or assigned engineers can identify vulnerabilities, activities, infected systems, large files, or DDoS attacks."
"The Splunk queries are valuable."
"Being able to aggregate detection and alerts from various sources is valuable. Like everyone else, we have a wide range of tools in our shop. We are able to stop at one spot and look at all the data. All the data is able to come through, and we can then jump from source to source or index to index. We can dig deep whenever we need to and get a good high-level understanding."
"The flexibility of the solution is quite good."
"I very much enjoy Splunk's robust search nature, which enables me to find the data I want within the data I have."
"Splunk's visualizations make it easy for users to understand the data."
"The dashboards are the most valuable feature. We like the ability to drill in and see what queries are under the dashboard, build new visualizations, edit the querying, and see the reports."
"The feature that we use the most is the correlation search engine within ES."
"We are much faster finding and addressing issues with Splunk."
 

Cons

"There should be some user groups and an auto sign-in feature.​"
"Dashboards, stream alerts and parsing could be improved."
"More complex visualizations and the ability to execute custom Elasticsearch queries would be great."
"I would like to see some kind of visualization included in Graylog."
"Since container orchestration systems are popular and Graylog fits the niche well, perhaps they could officially support running in docker containers on Kubernetes as a StatefulSet as a use case. That way, the declarative nature of Kubernetes config files would document their best case deployment scenario-"
"The infrastructure cost is the main issue. I like the rest. If the infrastructure costs could be lower, it would be fantastic."
"Graylog can improve the index rotation as it's quite a complex solution."
"When it comes to configuring the processing pipeline, writing the rules can be very tedious, especially since the documentation isn't extensive on how the functions provided for these rules work."
"It may not be as easy to use as Splunk."
"I would like to see more detailed reports."
"Support could improve to make the solution better."
"There's a lot to improve in terms of connectivity. Currently, we're utilizing it across various infrastructures and environments, including others' cloud. However, connecting it to our infrastructure and integrating it with some of our SMAX solutions poses difficulties."
"There isn't good security integration when it comes to cybersecurity. The correlation of logs isn't so simple."
"The scalability is limited."
"What I'd like to see as an improvement to ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer is for it to be more AI-driven. Having more automation would also make the solution better."
"Last month, we faced an issue with a Hawaiian VPN user activity."
"The price has room for improvement."
"I haven't found a way for me to create my own plugins and integrate them into Splunk, but this isn't necessarily a limitation; it could simply be a lack of knowledge on my part."
"Professional support is great, but too expensive."
"Configuring a few apps is complex, not straightforward."
"Adding custom visualization in Splunk has been improved over the years but can still be made better by integrating more and more JavaScript visualization sources."
"Queries are not always as easy or straightforward as they might be, so it can be difficult to figure out what you need to look for."
"The product is relatively expensive."
"Splunk Enterprise Security can provide more details and help CISOs resolve vulnerability situations better. The reason is that the tools we choose for data analysis and log collection cannot collect all the data and logs. Splunk Enterprise Security should help me with this, but it cannot."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are using the free version of the product. However, the paid version is expensive."
"Having paid official support is wise for projects."
"If you want something that works and do not have the money for Splunk or QRadar, take Graylog.​​"
"Graylog is a free open-source solution. The free version has a capacity limitation of 2 GB daily, if you want to go above this you have to purchase a license."
"It's open source and free. They have a paid version, but we never looked into that because we never needed the features of the paid version."
"I use the free version of Graylog."
"​You get a lot out-of-the-box with the non-enterprise version, so give it a try first."
"It's an open-source solution that can be used free of charge."
"There is a yearly subscription for the solution."
"ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer is expensive. Its licensing costs are annual."
"ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer is a low-cost solution. It costs approximately $1,000 per month per server for a perpetual license."
"There is a license required for these solutions. The customer can choose the license type, such as an annual license purchase or a perpetual license. If the customer wants maintenance they will have to pay annually."
"Licensing for ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer is paid yearly."
"We paid for the license of the solution and the deployment. The price of ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer is less expensive than other solutions."
"The price of Splunk Enterprise Security is reasonable, falling somewhere in the middle range."
"In addition to the licensing fee, there is also a support and maintenance charge."
"The price can always be lower, but it is fair at the moment. The cost efficiencies depend on the licensing and how much data we are bringing in. We have a fairly large footprint, so it is cost-effective."
"Splunk is expensive based on our current requirements, but it's obviously worth what we pay."
"The cost is on the high end, which makes it difficult for some organizations to use."
"While Splunk offers generous developer licenses and obtaining annual licenses is straightforward, the cost is a major consideration."
"I would highly recommend anyone evaluating this option to download the free trial which allows for the ingestion of 500MB of data per day in order to get a feel for what Splunk does at its core. It will get pricey once your ingestion rates start to sky rocket, but I would consider it expensive given the amount of information that it allows you to analyze and react on straight out-of-the-box."
"I believe that Splunk Enterprise Security is worth the price, but it is expensive."
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Comparison Review

VS
Feb 26, 2015
HP ArcSight vs. IBM QRadar vs. ​McAfee Nitro vs. Splunk vs. RSA Security vs. LogRhythm
We at Infosecnirvana.com have done several posts on SIEM. After the Dummies Guide on SIEM, we are following it up with a SIEM Product Comparison – 101 deck. So, here it is for your viewing pleasure. Let me know what you think by posting your comments below. The key products compared here are…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Government
8%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
20%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Graylog?
The product is scalable. The solution is stable.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Graylog?
We are using the free version of the product. However, the paid version is expensive.
What needs improvement with Graylog?
When it comes to configuring the processing pipeline, writing the rules can be very tedious, especially since the doc...
What do you like most about ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer?
The reporting features are noteworthy, as they provide templates that streamline the process of generating reports
What needs improvement with ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer?
Last month, we faced an issue with a Hawaiian VPN user activity. It's like a Fortinet device configured for VPN users...
What is your primary use case for ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer?
I find this solution useful for IT devices as a live stream to work with Syshun, serving as both the router and the t...
What SOC product do you recommend?
For tools I’d recommend: -SIEM- LogRhythm -SOAR- Palo Alto XSOAR Doing commercial w/o both (or at least an XDR) is a...
What is a better choice, Splunk or Azure Sentinel?
It would really depend on (1) which logs you need to ingest and (2) what are your use cases Splunk is easy for ingest...
How does Splunk compare with Azure Monitor?
Splunk handles a high amount of data very well. We use Splunk to capture information and as an aggregator for monitor...
 

Also Known As

Graylog2
EventLog Analyzer
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Blue Cross Blue Shield, eBay, Cisco, LinkedIn, SAP, King.com, Twilio, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Moody National Bank, EnCircle, Goldleaf Financial Solutions, Inc, IBM, Ernst & Young, Micro Linear, Silverbeck-Rymer Solicitors, Provincial Court of British Columbia, Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, OGILVY & MATHER, E! Entertainment, Tribune-Review Publishing Co.
Splunk has more than 7,000 customers spread across over 90 countries. These customers include Telenor, UniCredit, ideeli, McKenney's, Tesco, and SurveyMonkey.
Find out what your peers are saying about Splunk, Wazuh, Datadog and others in Log Management. Updated: February 2025.
839,080 professionals have used our research since 2012.